The ClusterDuck Protocol Home Blog Instructions Home Blog Empowering Communities through Connectivity Welcome to the ClusterDuck Protocol – an innovative open-source firmware empowering wireless IoT devices using LoRa technology. Explore endless opportunities to create fully customizable sensor and communication networks and redefine your IoT experience. View on Github Join Our Community What is the CDP? In 2017, Hurricane Maria, a category-5 storm, severely impacted Puerto Rico, demolishing homes and communication infrastructure. To address this issue, the ClusterDuck Protocol (CDP) was developed in 2018. It utilizes battery-powered Internet-of-Things devices to reestablish essential communication during emergencies, allowing civilians to request assistance, share their locations, and receive vital information from local governments and responders. Get the Hardware The ClusterDuck Protocol runs on a variety of IoT hardware, including many ESP32 Arduinos. Here is a list of hardware we use, though there may be many others that work. We recommend the Heltec LoRa ESP32 and the TTGO T-Beam ESP32. For a simple network you will want to make at least two Ducks. For bigger networks you will need more. Get the Software To start developing, you will need PlatformIO on your computer. Download or git clone the CDP library from GitHub. Follow the installation instructions here Please Note: With the Release of the ClusterDuck Protocol Version 4 we have different instructions. If you are looking for older instructions please go here Set Up the Network Connect your board to platform IO Follow the these updates instructions for loading up a Duck to get one running. Use the pre-built examples or develop custom Ducks of your own. Deploy! How does it work? Select the islands to learn more DuckLinks, or “Ducks” are IoT devices powered by the ClusterDuck protocol. These devices form the network foundation for communications and integrated sensor networks from fugitive methane emissions for Oil & Gas fields, to pressure sensors in maple syrup farm tubes. Ducks are able to sync together in networked clusters, called ClusterDuck Networks, to share information. In some scenarios, this data is pushed to cloud databases and software systems over wifi, cellular, or satellite backhauls. Join more than a thousand developers that use The ClusterDuck Protocol. View on Github Join Our Community Installation Manual A step-by-step guide on how to build your own ClusterDuck Protocol network on our GitHub repository Video Tutorials Go and check out this playlist with all the installation vidoes of the clusterduck Protocol QuackPacks (Integrations) QuackPacks are plug-and-play add-ons that give Ducks new features, like sensors, hardware, or networking tools. OWL Built the CDP to help improve global resilience through connectivity. In March 2020, The Linux Foundation and OWL formed a partnership to open-source the ClusterDuck Protocol. Learn more about TLF. The IBM Call for Code is a technology competition empowering developers worldwide. Stay tuned for latest competitions and updates. Copyright © 2026 ClusterDuck Protocol a Series of LF Projects, LLC. ClusterDuck is a trademark of LF Projects, LLC. For trademark usage guidelines and other applicable policies, please see www.lfprojects.org.